


Only If You Want

by baeconandeggs, exobubz



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Comedy, Drama, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-30 00:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15085364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/exobubz/pseuds/exobubz
Summary: Baekhyun kisses a stranger who turns out to be his best friend’s crush.





	Only If You Want

**Author's Note:**

  * For [waddlingpenguin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waddlingpenguin/gifts).



> **Recipient:** WaddlingPenguin  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in. ME! First, I want to say I hope you, my participant, will like this! It was really difficult to write, given my situation right now and my schedule, but somehow I pulled through. I strayed away from the prompt a bit so I'm sorry if this isn't what you had in mind ;-; Thank you so much for the mods for being so kind. I never would’ve finished this with you all. I would love to thank my beta M for hyping me up as usual. I’d like to thank my real life friend who helped develop this basic plot since it’s based on his own experience. Lastly, I apologize if these seems rushed or if it seems too simple. I genuinely enjoyed writing this story and I wish I could’ve done more to it, also! Once again, thank you all so much. Words will never explain how much your support means to me.

Being sexiled from his own dorm was really annoying, but Baekhyun didn’t really have any other choice but to drag himself over to the floor lounge and study  _there_. Who even had time to have sex when the semester was nearing an end and finals were beginning the week after? It was just one of the things that Baekhyun didn’t fully understand, but maybe it was because he was one of those kids who were solely intent on just studying and not so much on having an actual love life.  
  
He prided himself in being a decent student, but like others, he was also prone to just wandering the internet and making fake shopping lists of things he didn’t have money to actually buy. His financial economics homework was mind-numbing and aside from jamming lines of commands into the R-program, his brain needed an actual break.  
  
As he was watching his third movie review video on Youtube, his eyes wandered upwards and noticed a text sent to him by Kyungsoo  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Hey! Were you able to finish problem 4 of the homework??  
  
Pausing his video, Baekhyun looked over the paper piles on his left before he responded.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Yeah. It’s pretty easy. What part did you need help on?  
  
[ Kyungsoo ]I just don’t get the problem at all.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Just solve for the Beta for portfolio A and B. It’s  _basically_  just a linear line used as an indicator to predict future returns of investments. Just remember that the larger the Beta, the riskier the portfolio.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : ....  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : So how do you do that, again?  
  
Sighing, Baekhyun pulled out his phone and took a photo of his work (not that there was much to show). After sending the image over, he tried to explain the problem again.  
  
[ Baekhyun] : Once you get it, you’ll be set. Like I said, it’s not that hard, but you should probably learn the concept behind it. I think our TA has notes on his website about it.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Alright. Thanks!  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Sure! Just let me know if you need anything else.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Kk  
  
As he was beginning to close their conversation, he received another text from his friend.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Actually, what’re you doing right now? Do you wanna come by the 24 hour lounge near the library and study with me?  
  
The study area wasn’t too far from where Baekhyun was. It was a little over five to seven minutes to walk there. Normally, he’d decline, but being in the dorm lounge was uncomfortable and he was still bitter about being sexiled by his roommate, so staying there really didn’t do anything but make him slightly irritated.  
  
Granted, it sounded like Kyungsoo hadn’t been attending lecture recently to actually understand the homework, which was the easiest one thus far, but studying with him and being around someone else seemed like a much better alternative compared to watching cat videos alone.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Yeah, sure. I don’t mind. Just tell me where you’re sitting. I’ll be there in about 10.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Cool! See you in a few.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
The 24-hour study hall was exactly like Baekhyun thought it’d look--crowded. There were a few open seats in between certains groups, mostly because it seemed like common courtesy to sit at least one seat away from other people. It only made Baekhyun’s job of trying to spot Kyungsoo in the sea of dark-haired students harder.  
  
Just as he was about to text the latter to ask for his location, he heard a faint voice amongst the other students’ voices, calling out his name. Looking up, he saw two flailing arms in the air, which was enough to let him know that it was Kyungsoo.  
  
After walking past other students sitting on the same long study table, he set his things next to Kyungsoo’s bag and sat down in the seat that had been saved for him.  
  
“Sorry for asking you to come here so late. Were you at the dorms?” Kyungsoo asked, moving some of his papers over to his side in order to make room.  
  
“Uh, I was in the lounge area. Roommate kicked me out,” Baekhyun answered.  
  
“Did Heechul give you the 10-minute warning, though?”  
  
“Got it right after I got out of my discussion section.”  
  
“Mmm… Well, you’re better off here with me, anyways,” Kyungsoo said, smiling. Then, his facial expression changed as he looked to the man sitting across from him and placed a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Oh! By the way, this is my friend, Chanyeol. I met him in my upper division writing workshop.”  
  
Turning to the man who was holding out his hand confidently out for him to accept, Baekhyun smiled and exchanged a quick shake. “Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m Baekhyun.”  
  
The grin on Chanyeol’s face was kind of tantalizing, taking Baekhyun aback, but he didn’t let on about those feelings. “Baekhyun,” he said, reiterating the latter’s name as if to recall. “I feel like I’ve met you before.”  
  
Shrugging, Baekhyun pulled away and settled into his seat. “Well, it is a small world, so who knows. Maybe.”  
  
“That’s impossible,” Kyungsoo commented. “All Baekhyun does is stay cooped up somewhere, studying. That or watching basketball.”  
  
Chanyeol raised his brows. “You like basketball?”  
  
“Depends. I watch home games, sometimes,” Baekhyun answered. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Basketball was just one of his more preferred pastime sports, but the tidbit seemed to perk the latter’s interest anyways. “You?”  
  
“I go to the games pretty often, but the after party is where it’s at.”  
  
“Ah…” Baekhyun smiled. Being that their university was ranked within the top five colleges for basketball meant that it was a  _big_  thing. And, logically, the bigger the team, the bigger the parties to hype (and celebrate) said team. “Haven’t really been to any of those.”  
  
“Really?” Chanyeol looked as if he didn’t believe him and Baekhyun wondered why that was. “That’s too bad. They’re really fun. But anyways, I’ll stop bothering you about basketball and let you two get to work on your finance homework.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
The thing with Kyungsoo introducing him to Chanyeol was that Baekhyun already knew him. Chanyeol  _was_  right and it was really easy to read it off his face the second he recognized him. Groaning, Baekhyun set his head down on his desk and stayed that way for a few minutes. How the hell was he supposed to know that the random stranger he decided to make out with months ago (and then ditch in the crowd) would somehow end up being introduced to him by his best friend?  
  
He was embarrassed--mostly because he was honestly  _not_  himself that night at all and, normally, he’d never even think about dancing against someone he didn’t know before consequently just--  
  
There was a click before the door to his right opened. A few seconds passed before he heard the familiar sound of his roommate’s voice. “What’s up with you?”  
  
Heechul wasn’t a nosy roommate, but he occasionally liked to hear about Baekhyun’s business. It wasn’t that big of a deal since Baekhyun would actually rant to him about his courses and anything that was bothering him at the time. It kinda helped how he wasn’t really part of his friend circle, so he was a safe person to spill the beans to and then later trust that those beans wouldn’t get spilled out to other people.  
  
Baekhyun raised his head off his desk and spun his chair around to face his curious roommate as he walked through their dorm room, setting his things on his side. “Have you ever made out with someone?” he blurted out (blatantly). “I mean, like… Someone you didn’t even know.”  
  
Rolling his eyes, Heechul climbed on his bed, tired despite having only attended one class that day. “Isn’t that what college is about? Hooking up to forget how stressed you are? Why? Did you kiss someone, Byun Baekhyun?”  
  
“No-- Well. Yes, but just one time,” Baekhyun said quickly as if he really  _had_  to defend his reasons. “It doesn’t even matter because I regret the whole thing. I’m actually really embarrassed because I thought I’d never see the guy again and then… Kyungsoo introduces us.”  
  
Intrigued, Heechul grabbed a pillow and hugged it as he lied down on his front. He quirked his lips and then gave Baekhyun a playful smile. “And then…?”  
  
“And then… I don’t know.”  
  
“Did he  _recognize_  you?” Heechul asked.  
  
“I’m not sure, but I think he might’ve.” Baekhyun threw his head back and let out an exasperated groan. “I shouldn’t care, but I do. That was just… really embarrassing. It wasn’t like me. If I wasn’t so drunk and...and…”  
  
Heartbroken? Recently broken up with?  
  
Drinking wasn’t usually one of Baekhyun’s favorite activities, and it wasn’t normal for him to even  _go_  to a college party thrown by one of the frats, but the opportunity came up right after Jongin had broken up with him and he really just wanted to forget about him… So then what? He found a rebound guy for the night? It sounded kind of bad, but at the same time, dancing against a (hot) guy and not being judged for it seemed like a good idea to him then.  
  
But emphasis on  _then_.  
  
If Baekhyun remembered correctly (his memory was a bit of a haze), he--Chanyeol--did ask for his name and number, but Jongdae, the friend who had  _brought_  him there in the first place, found him before making an excuse about how they had to go. It didn’t give any of them time to exchange info, but none of that mattered since they literally shook hands the other night and stared into each other’s eyes.  
  
_Ngh._  
  
“I just needed to forget about Jongin. That’s all. That’s all I wanted. Now I feel like I have to apologize to this poor guy for being… _weird_  at a dumb frat party.”  
  
“Or just don’t mention it. Pretend it never happened,” Heechul suggested as he shrugged his shoulders. It was a simple and straight solution to him. “He’s more like Kyungsoo’s friend, right?”  
  
_Were_  they really friends? Baekhyun remembered him mentioning they were partners for a writing class, but the word “friends” seemed like it was a stretch. Then again, who was he to judge when Kyungsoo seemed like he was completely and utterly comfortable with the guy?  
  
“Sure. I mean, I guess,” Baekhyun said, finally answering after he stalled into silence for a few seconds.  
  
“Then you won’t really have to see him. He’s not your problem, anyways.”  
  
“Yeah… You’re right. I have other things to worry about,” Baekhyun mumbled as he turned back towards his desk, eyeing the practice exams he had neatly splayed over the surface. His entire station looked like a disheveled mess, but he was nearly ready to take a break anyhow. Fixing it up then would’ve been a waste of time. “I think I’ll walk down to the cafe on campus and grab something to eat. Do you want anything?”  
  
Shaking his head, Heechul raised his hand and gave him a thumbs up. “I’m good. Thanks for asking.”  
  
“Alright then.” Baekhyun pushed himself away from the desk and stood up, making sure to grab his lanyard and dorm key before walking towards the door. As he was turning the handle, he turned his head back momentarily and called out to Heechul. “By the way, thanks for listening.”  
  
All he received as a quick “mhm”, but it was a typical response from Heechul, so Baekhyun didn’t give it too much thought. In fact, he was right. Pretending like that night didn’t happen was his best option.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
The walk down to the cafe took about ten minutes since Baekhyun’s dorm was the farthest building from any type of student store that the university had to offer. Maybe if he was a freshman he would’ve gotten one of the newer dorms closer to everything from shops to lecture halls, but the juniors were always assigned to one out of the three buildings. Baekhyun just so happen to be in the one building that was the most isolated.  
  
Letting himself in, Baekhyun held the door open for the person walking in behind him before getting in line and wondering if he wanted anything to go with his macchiato. Caffeine always stifled his hunger and that would really save him some money, but at the same time, his eyes couldn’t help but land on the bagels on display.  
  
After he ordered, he walked over to the side and went on his phone, hoping to pass the time quickly by scrolling through his feed on Facebook. There weren’t a lot of other people waiting for their drinks, so he figured that he wouldn’t have to wait as long.  
  
It was the sound of his name being called that jerked his attention away from his phone. Turning around, Baekhyun immediately spotted Kyungsoo’s familiar face, waving at him from a table. He took one step in the direction of the latter, but stopped when the barista called out his name and order. Holding up a finger, Baekhyun mouthed “Give me a sec...” before rushing over to the pick-up counter and grabbing his drink.  
  
After he grabbed a straw and shoved it through the plastic top, he walked back to Kyungsoo and sat across from him. The male was all smiles with a feel-good vibe that even Baekhyun couldn’t ignore. It had to be commented on.  
  
“What’s with you?” Baekhyun said, making it obvious that Kyungsoo’s demeanors seemed odd and out of place, even for him. Not that it was a fault, but there was something different that he could feel and Baekhyun wanted to know what that really was. “Something good happen?”  
  
“Mmm… Not really.” Continuing to type on his laptop, Kyungsoo kept glancing back and forth from his screen to Baekhyun. Over and over, on repeat. “Sorry, I’m just sending Chanyeol a quick message about our paper.”  
  
“And that’s making you smile because…?”  
  
“I don’t know. He’s funny,” Kyungsoo says, laughing. It wasn’t enough to stop Baekhyun from rolling his eyes and scoffing, however. “I’m just glad that he ended up being my partner. I thought I’d be stuck with another douche like last semester for my econometrics project. He’s actually really easy to talk to.”  
  
“Well, that’s good. At least you two are carrying both the weight,” Baekhyun said, shrugging as he took a sip of his drink. Seconds passed before he nodded at the laptop in front of the latter. “What’re you working on?”  
  
“The paper we’re working on together. We’re supposed to meet up today,” Kyungsoo explained. “It’s due tomorrow and we need to go over things one last time.”  
  
Slightly biting his lower lip, looking as if he was pondering on a thought and trying to make a decision about whether he should ask or not, Kyungsoo ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, can I tell you something?”  
  
“I mean, you look like you wanted to say something anyways, so go for it.”  
  
“Shut up,” Kyungsoo retorted before brushing off the comment. He continued on after Baekhyun began motioning for him to finish what he wanted to say. “But since you’re okay with listening to me, I’ll tell you… So, like I said, Chanyeol’s a really funny and easy-going type of person.”  
  
“Uh huh.”  
  
“And we’ve been partners for the entire term, and honestly? I kind of like him.”  
  
Baekhyun pursed his lips. His brows arched at the news, but it wasn’t too surprising. The way Kyungsoo smiled at the thought of just  _messaging_  the guy was enough to send crush vibes to everyone in that cafe. In another situation, it was great to hear that his friend had finally taken interest in someone who didn’t seem like a complete ass, which was, by far, a  _miracle_ ; however… Was he  _supposed_  to tell Kyungsoo about the kiss? Maybe not. He was trying to act like it never happened and telling the man in front of him those details would’ve defeated the purpose.  
  
It was a (slightly) complex issue, but he wasn’t anticipating it to be a problem. Instead, maybe it’d make things a little awkward if he and Chanyeol ended up being in the same room together again, but that was an unlikely scenario that he didn’t plan on happening.  
  
At least, he was counting on it.  
  
“So, what now? Are you going to ask him out on a date?”  
  
“I actually am.” Kyungsoo nodded, giving him a small but slightly shy smile. His eyes drifted to his laptop screen. “I’m planning on doing it after we finish this assignment. We’ll have some free time before our exams. It might be a tight fit, but we can always grab coffee together, right?”  
  
Baekhyun agreed. “A coffee run can be a quick, nice date.”  
  
“Hm… What about a movie? I know he likes superheroes, so we can probably go see the new Star Wars movie.” Then, Kyungsoo shook his head. “Actually, nevermind. He’s probably already seen it. Is the new Ant-Man out, yet? You like those types of films, too, right?”  
  
Putting his hand up in front of the latter’s face, Baekhyun stopped him. “First of all, Star Wars and Ant-Man aren’t even  _remotely_  in the same sub-genre. They’re two different things. Second, no. Ant-Man’s movie is set for July.” Just as Kyungsoo opened his mouth to interrupt, he was stopped again by a hand. “And  _lastly_... just have a coffee date. Test out the waters. But then again, jumping off the deep end is  _also_  the better choice, too. I guess it’s entirely up to you.”  
  
“Hmmm… Okay, then.” Sitting in his thoughts for a moment, Kyungsoo sighed before closing his laptop. “If that’s the case, then I think it’d be best if I hold off on asking him. I mean, finals are coming up and we’re both pretty busy, even  _after_  turning this assignment in. I’m also going to be out of the country over winter break for the holidays so I won’t be able to see or talk to him much… You know, I’m kind of feeling like I should ask him out next term? Early in the beginning. That’s probably the best time.”  
  
“If you put it like that,” Baekhyun started, bobbing his head side to side as he animatedly thought about the situation, “then, yeah. The beginning of next term looks like it’s the best time. For now, maybe you should get to know him some more.”  
  
“You’re right. I’ll try and see if I get any vibes from him for now.” Crossing his arms, Kyungsoo laughed to himself about a thought that randomly popped itself in his head. :”For someone really easy to talk to, he’s actually really hard to read. You know what I mean?”  
  
Baekhyun smiled. He was all too familiar with the feeling, especially with his last encounter with Park Chanyeol. Although it didn’t click with him immediately at the time, he was sure that it only took a few seconds for the giant to piece two and two together--and yet, he was so calm and friendly that he didn’t even let on about whether or not he recognized him.  
  
“I can see that,” Baekhyun commented, sounding as if he was indifferent to the subject, which he kind of was.  _Almost_. “But he seems…cool. I feel like he’ll be upfront if he doesn’t feel the same.”  
  
“Okay… Hopefully, that’s not the case.” Kyungsoo grimaced at the thought of rejection for a slight moment, but managed to pull a smile on his face. “Anyways, do you want to study again later tonight? I’m focusing on another course right now but I wanted to start the study guide for Finance.”  
  
“Will  _he_  be there?” Baekhyun questioned, giving the latter a look. “Your study buddy.”  
  
“He might. Why?”  
  
“Nothing. I was just asking.”  
  
“Sorry. Do you feel awkward now that you know how I feel…?” Concerned, Kyungsoo reached over and put a gentle hand on Baekhyun’s arm. “It’s okay. We can meet up another time, just the two of us. I don’t want you to feel like a third wheel.”  
  
Shaking a hand in front of him, Baekhyun rejected the insinuation that he felt—in any way— like a “third wheel”. If anything, Kyungsoo was the odd one out, but then again, maybe he was just over thinking again and making the whole kiss thing bigger than it needed to be.  
  
“No, no. It’s okay! I’m okay with studying with you guys again.”  
  
“Okay, great! I have to pack up and go to a review session right now. I’ll text you the details later?”  
  
Baekhyun gave him a nod. “Sounds good.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
It didn’t take long before Baekhyun began to regret ever agreeing to study with Kyungsoo and Chanyeol again. It happened the moment he sat down with them in the library that evening, especially when Kyungsoo quickly excused himself to go print his notes in the computer lab. Essentially, it left a gaping window of time for the silence between him and Chanyeol to just painstakingly linger. He did try to ignore the mood and slight tension between them, but those attempts broke immediately after he looked up and saw the taller male staring at him.  
  
“What?” Baekhyun said rather bluntly to start things off. In fact, it was a little  _too_  blunt; he almost sounded rude. It bothered him so much that he was quick to offer up an apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Chanyeol responded, smoothly. “I didn’t mean to stare at you like a weirdo. Might’ve seemed a little creepy. I was just thinking about something.”  
  
_Fuck_. There were a million other places he would’ve much rather been at than in that library at the moment, but Baekhyun was stuck. He did manage to keep face and appear clueless about what Chanyeol’s words  _could’ve_  been alluding to even though his mind was a mosh pit of thoughts fighting one another.  
  
“We met before, didn’t we.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.  
  
If the certainty in his voice wasn’t enough to convince Baekhyun to abandon all his doubts, Chanyeol’s expression on his face was the cherry on top of everything. After a few moments, he realized he only had two options--maybe even three if he wanted to go 50/50.  
  
Option A: Deny it.  
  
Option B: Carefully ask “What do you mean?” and continue to play dumb.  
  
Option C: Admit it  
  
The smartest option was obviously--  
  
“No, we haven’t.” It came out of him before he could even process any other way of reacting. Baekhyun blamed his high anxiety at that point and the fact that he just wanted to put up his hood and shuffle back to the dorms where he’d stay for the rest of the term. “Okay, I mean, if you don’t count when Kyungsoo--”  
  
“You were the one at the after party.” Chanyeol sounded so sure that Baekhyun almost  _wanted_  to be mad at the amount of confidence he had. However, he couldn’t bring himself to feel that way, especially not when the latter didn’t even remotely sound like a douche. Instead, the way Chanyeol looked and spoke made him feel like he was genuinely wanting to know if it was him that night.  
  
“I…” Baekhyun was at a loss for words. “I don’t really go to parties.” And it was true. He didn’t. But the statement was ambiguous, and a part of him was hoping that it would throw Chanyeol off, but he didn’t take the bait.  
  
“Come on. Be honest with me.” For the first time since they met, Chanyeol’s smile momentarily dropped, making him look more serious than before. “You looked too familiar to me the first time we met-- _officially_.”  
  
At first, Baekhyun said nothing. Realizing how he couldn’t deny it any further without going in a circle, he eventually decided to just...say it. “Fine. Yes, we’ve technically met.” He didn’t consider dancing and kissing as proper introductions, though. “I recognized you, too. I mean, it’s pretty hard to forget someone who’s as tall as you.”  
  
“I knew it!” Chanyeol exclaimed. A few heads turned their way about the mildly loud outburst. Baekhyun tried to ignore the eyes, but the latter, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice the shift of attention. “I wanted to get your name before the party ended, but you left so suddenly with your friend.”  
  
God bless, Jongdae.  
  
“Sorry about that. I was a mess. My friend actually did me a favor by bringing me back to the dorms,” Baekhyun explained, giving a small laugh. “Like I said, I’m not really that big into parties so I guess I just… I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I went a little overboard--”  
  
“No, don’t apologize. We’re all college students, so I think you can get a pass,” Chanyeol replied, laughing. “I’m just glad that now I’m not stuck overthinking about this anymore. Anyways, I’m glad that we finally met. It was kind of random, too, don’t you think?”  
  
Agreeing, Baekhyun nodded. “It honestly was. No offense, but I completely forgot about that night until the other day.”  
  
“It just clicked for you, too, right?”  
  
“I guess you could say that.” Shrugging, Baekhyun smiled as he maintained eye contact. “I just wanted to say that I’m not usually like that. It’s a bit embarrassing so is it okay if we just don’t mention it?” Chanyeol’s face was difficult to read (Kyungsoo really wasn’t kidding). “Sorry, it’s just that you’re Kyungsoo’s friend and we don’t really know each other so, I just thought that--”  
  
“No, no! Don’t apologize. I completely understand.” It sounded genuine. “You don’t have to worry about it.”  
  
Surprised by Chanyeol’s pleasant (and really nice) response, which was the total opposite of what his mind was over-exaggerating in his head for the last 48 hours, Baekhyun clasped his hands together with the smile on his face showing the amount of relief he felt. “Wow. I didn’t expect that to go over as easy as it did. It’s almost like you’ve had this type of conversation before,” he joked, laughing softly.  
  
The grin on Chanyeol’s face returned as he cocked his head. “What do you mean?” he asked. Though it was a question, it sounded more like he knew what he meant but wanted Baekhyun to keep talking anyways.  
  
Which Baekhyun did.  
  
“You know… Kissing every stranger at random parties.”  
  
“Oh, no,” Chanyeol said. Their eyes locked and before Baekhyun could respond, the taller male leaned back in his seat and gave him a relaxed shrug. “I only kiss the cute ones.”  
  
Right at that moment, Kyungsoo returned with multiple packets of paper and a curious expression on his face. “Hey, sorry that took a while. What’d I miss?” he asked, specifically looking over at Baekhyun who looked like he was knocked out of reality for a few good seconds. “Is everything okay?”  
  
Chanyeol nodded. “Yeah. I was just telling him about the new Avengers movie coming out next spring.”  
  
“Oh, is that a superhero movie?”  
  
Baekhyun finally managed to recover from Chanyeol’s (flirty?) remark and turn his attention to Kyungsoo. “Yeah, and he basically spoiled the ending.”  
  
“I told you the comic book ending. You know Hollywood likes to mix and match different storylines, so it’s probably going to end  _way_  differently.”  
  
“You’re right. They do like to pull those last minute plot twists.”  
  
“But it keeps the audience wanting more,” Chanyeol argued.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun scoffed. “Sometimes, but it’s kind of tacky.”  
  
“Depends on the person.”  
  
Kyungsoo exhaled as he settled in his head and opened his laptop. “You guys are a bunch of nerds.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
“That was a flirty thing to say and you know it.”  
  
Baekhyun was too out of breath to say anything immediately. Reaching out, he lowered the treadmill speed back down to a level 4 for a short cool-down walk. “He’s really hard to read. I kind of get why Kyungsoo complains about it,” he said, voice raspy and tired. His legs were honestly killing him. “But I don’t know if I’d call that flirty. Maybe he was just kidding around.”  
  
Jongdae was focused on maintaining his rate on the stairmaster machine, but Baekhyun’s willful ignorance was enough to make him snap his head to throw the latter a look of disapproval. “I swear to god, Byun Baekhyun--”  
  
“Shut up,” Baekhyun said. He wasn’t in the mood to argue when his lungs were on fire. Being out of breath really wasn’t that pleasant, but he figured that it was what he deserved for skipping the gym so much. “I don’t want to think about it. I’m over it.”  
  
“Okay, okay. Fine.” Jongdae looked at his watch. “We can leave soon if you want. I’m just about done with the session.”  
  
“Same. I might meet up with some friends at Mandro’s for some boba after this. They need some help for the final on Monday.”  
  
“You really have to start charging people if they want your help.” The stairmaster began to beep, congratulating Jongdae on finishing his 60-minute workout session. Hopping off the machine, he walked over to the side where disinfecting wipes were placed before returning and wiping down the handles he had touched. “Anyways, ready to go?”  
  
Baekhyun pressed the button to end all his activities and, gradually, the treadmill reached a stop. Following Jongdae’s lead, he wiped down all the areas that he had touched. “Yeah. I’m all good.”  
  
After they had grabbed their bags and tossed the wipes in the nearest bin, they began walking towards the exit, passing by other students using the gym equipments. Baekhyun actually disliked working out, but if there was one thing he couldn’t deny, it always made him feel good after (even though he always wanted to immediately find something to eat).  
  
“So,” Jongdae started, interrupting Baekhyun’s thoughts. “I have a question for you.”  
  
“Okay...?”  
  
“You made it sound like you’re both into that Marvel and DC comics type of stuff, so if he’s that and he’s tall and handsome, then what’s the problem?” After he asked the question, Jongdae motioned his hand in front of him, trying to clarify. “I guess I mean to say, why  _not_?”  
  
Why not? It was pretty simple: Kyungsoo. Besides Kyungsoo, there was also Jongin and the whole break up situation, which wasn’t entirely as cut-throat and clean as he would’ve liked. They went to different universities and the distance was about a few hours away. That didn’t mean that their relationship couldn’t have worked if they just tried, but what the hell did “I want a break” even mean in that time and age?  
  
He was left pondering about it for a few weeks after their initial break, but Baekhyun just liked to refer to it as a break-up despite still being in contact with Jongin every once in a while. It was a weird limbo state where he was unsure about his feelings towards his ex. There would always be an air of familiarity and comfort when speaking to him, but Baekhyun knew that it just wasn’t the same anymore.  
  
However, he refused to be labeled as “hung up” over someone he wasn’t seeing anymore, but that didn’t make things any simpler.  
  
Explaining all of this to Jongdae would’ve made things more complicated so Baekhyun opted to tell him the former. “Kyungsoo likes him.”  
  
“What the fuck.”  
  
Baekhyun was taken aback. “I mean, he told me a while ago. I’m really not trying to--”  
  
“No, I wasn’t talking about that. Look,” Jongdae said in a lowered voice, grabbing Baekhyun’s arm and spinning him around until they were facing the weight room and looking through the clear glass wall that separated the room from the rest of the gym facility. “That’s him, right?”  
  
_“Who?”_  Baekhyun’s eyes searched through the entire room. “Where’re you looking?”  
  
_“There”_ , Jongdae enunciated. “Doing the bench press.”  
  
It took a while for Baekhyun’s eyes to find what Jongdae was talking about, but when he did, he realized that aside from that  _one_  kiss, there’d be another thing he wouldn’t be able to get out of his long term memory.  
  
Those fucking arms.  
  
Unlike Jongdae, timing wasn’t Baekhyun’s friend. Maybe they were staring through the glass a little longer than they should’ve.  
  
Chanyeol finished the last of his set and fixed the bar back into its standard position. After thanking the guys who spotted him, he reached down on the ground and grabbed his water bottle. As he was about to lift the bottle up to his lips, his eyes caught sight of two familiar faces standing outside the weight room.  
  
They made eye contact. Baekhyun knew they did (or else why did he feel so attacked in that moment).  
  
A second went by… Then, Chanyeol waved.  
  
And Baekhyun waved back.  
  
Jongdae, left out of whatever connection the other two were having, began to pull Baekhyun away towards the exit. “Let’s go  
  
-  
  
-  
  
Finals went by quickly, and the only thing on Baekhyun’s mind after he walked out of his last exam was going home for the holidays and sleeping. Winter break was his favorite since it made staying in bed even more nice and fun.  
  
“Got any plans for your break?” Baekhyun asked as the brunet packed his dirty laundry into a plastic bag before fitting into his suitcase. “Anything that doesn’t involve just staying inside?”  
  
“Then, no. I don’t. I wish I didn’t, actually.” Heechul groaned. “My family wants to go up to a ski resort and spend my dad’s birthday there. What about you?”  
  
“I’m staying here. My parents wanted to spend vacation somewhere warmer, but I prefer to stay here where it’s cold. I can’t stand sweating.”  
  
“Relatable,” Heechul replied. “I really don’t care about skiing, but I like it enough.”  
  
There wasn’t much inside since he had clothes and other things back at his parents’ home, so it was nice that it wasn’t too heavy to lug around. Once he was finished fitting everything in, Heechul zipped the bag. Rising up from the floor, he looked around one last time to make sure he had gotten everything he needed.  
  
“I think that’s about it…” Glancing at the clock on the wall, Heechul figured he had a lot of time to spare to get to the train station. Looking back at Baekhyun who had buried himself underneath his covers. “I’ll see you later. Hope you have a decent holiday around here.”  
  
“Mhmm. Same to you. Bye!” Baekhyun said with his voice muffled by his duvet. “Happy holidays.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
One of the things that made staying on campus during break better than going home was the obvious fact that there was barely any people around. Despite most student-run things being closed (like the video game room), Baekhyun found peace in the empty university gym.  
  
For the most part, it was pretty  _much_  peace, minus Chanyeol talking to him because he was  _also_  staying behind.  
  
“Hey, do you want to join an intramural sports team with me?” Chanyeol asked with uneven breath as he was finishing up at the bench with Baekhyun standing by the side as his spotter. “It’ll be fun.”  
  
“What’s intramural?” Baekhyun had an idea just by the word ‘sports’ by itself, but if there was one thing that he was definitely  _not_  that great at, it was exactly that. At most, he was average with it.  
  
“Oh! You can make your own teams around the school and—” The bar was against his chest, forcing him to pause and finish before pushing it back out again. “You play matches.”  
  
“I never knew we had these programs here.”  
  
“They’re pretty fun—Hold on. Spot me. I’m putting it back up.”  
  
Nodding, Baekhyun put his hands under the bar. “Got it.”  
  
It took a second, mainly because Chanyeol made it look so damn easy. Baekhyun’s arms couldn’t relate. Once the weights were safety back in their place, he took a step back and walked to the side as Chanyeol sat up. He rolled his shoulders, muttering about how they ached because he had skipped bench for a few days, and Baekhyun, in turn, nodded relating back to how sore his own legs would be if he didn’t run every once in a while.  
  
“But anyways, yeah. Intramural is just, I guess, a fun side activity. I asked Kyungsoo, but he said he’d get back to me on that,” Chanyeol said, grinning up at Baekhyun. “Said sports wasn’t really his thing, but he  _might_. He was willing to try it out.”  
  
“What kind of team are you putting together?”  
  
“Dodgeball, so it’s not  _that_  physically intensive as something like soccer, but I think it’s still challenging!” Chanyeol took gulp of water from his bottle before offering it to the latter. Shaking his head, Baekhyun politely declined. “I’m okay. Thanks, though,” he said, putting a hand up. “But uh… I’ll think about it—the intramural thing. It might be fun.”  
  
“Might be? I’m the one putting the whole team together. It’ll be great!”  
  
Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun scoffed. “Yeah, yeah.”  
  
“Has anyone ever told you it’s rude to roll your eyes at someone?” Chanyeol stood up, immediately towering over him. Grinning, he gave a gentle shove against Baekhyun’s shoulder. “I’m just kidding—Well. I’m kind of serious, though. It’ll be fun. I’d really like it if you joined.”  
  
“Honestly?”  
  
“Honestly.”  
  
Baekhyun reached to the floor, grabbing his own gym bag. As he waited for Chanyeol to finish sanitizing the equipment first before walking towards the weight room exit, making sure that the giant wasn’t too far behind that he couldn’t catch up in a few steps. Luckily for Chanyeol’s long legs, he didn’t have to wait very long.  
  
“So…” Baekhyun slowly started as soon as they walked out of the building. The night air was calm and quiet, except for some of the crickets but it didn’t make it feel like they  _weren’t_  the only two people in the world. They had been going to the gym together for a while, but it was still weird—mainly because Baekhyun didn’t really know how to say good-bye without being painfully awkward. “I guess, I’ll see you tom—”  
  
“Wanna go see The Last Jedi with me?”  
  
Caught off guard, Baekhyun took a second to recollect himself. “Right now?”  
  
“No, not now. I meant tomorrow  _after_  we’ve had the chance to shower and all that,” Chanyeol replied, laughing. “Unless you want to go catch the 10:30 showing in five minutes.”  
  
“God, no. I feel gross and I look a mess right now.”  
  
“I don’t think you do,” Chanyeol told him, shrugging.  
  
Maybe it was the lack of attention he usually got, but Baekhyun debated whether or not the latter’s comments were borderline flirty or if he was just being a moron who couldn’t recognize basic compliments without overthinking.  
  
He probably  _was_  overthinking it too much. As always.  
  
“Thanks.” Looking away, Baekhyun combed his bangs back with his hand, pushing it all away from his face. “So, what time did you want to go?”  
  
“Is seven good for you?”  
  
“Yeah, that sounds fine.”  
  
“Cool! I’ll pick you up at 5:30 and we can get dinner before then,” Chanyeol said, reaching in his basketball shorts for his phone. After quickly reading over his recent messages, he cursed underneath his breath before looking up to give Baekhyun an apologetic look (despite looking pretty damn ecstatic). “Ah, I have to go right now. My roommate locked himself out of our room again. Tomorrow, yeah?”  
  
Nodding, Baekhyun smiled. “Yeah, tomorrow.”  
  
“Alright. It’s a date, then!” Chanyeol gave him a wave (accompanied by a quick, fleeting wink). “Later!”  
  
“Bye—”  
  
Wait.  
_  
Date?_  
  
Baekhyun stopped in the midst of his wave, but it was too late for Chanyeol to see the change in his facial expression. He had already turned around and started jogging the other way.  
-  
-  
[ Heechul ] : That’s a date.  
  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : We didn’t say it was.  
  
[ Heechul ] : I mean, he’s picking you up, isn’t he?  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Yeah, he is.  
  
[ Heechul ] : And you’re getting dinner together.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Friends do that all the time, though…?  
  
[ Heechul ] : But do they call it a “date”?  
  
[ Baekhyun ] I think he was joking.  
  
[ Heechul ] : …  
  
[ Heechul ] : I can’t believe he’s so smooth, he asked you out and you didn’t even know it. What a man.  
  
-  
-  
For a while, Baekhyun tried convincing himself that it wasn’t a date by muttering it over and over again in the shower, in front of the mirror while he was getting ready, and as he sat around waiting for Chanyeol to text him that he was outside his building. He  _was_  nervous. The fact that he was shaking his knee faster than the second hand on the clock made it pretty obvious, but it wasn’t because he didn’t  _like_  Chanyeol enough to be on this “date” with him, but more so because it felt so spontaneous and unplanned. Then again,  _other_  things happened that were  _also_  “spontaneous and unplanned”, but he was over that.  
  
Attempting to calm his nerves, Baekhyun fell back on his bed and closed his eyes. There had to be something to keep his mind off of Chanyeol, and he kept trying to figure out what it was; however, his train of thought was cut short by the sound of text notification.  
  
Almost immediately, he stood up and checked the text, expecting it to be Chanyeol, letting him know that he was outside the building, but instead, saw that it was a text from Jongin.  
  
[ Jongin ] : Hey, are you coming home for the break?  
  
Baekhyun frowned. They had both agreed to be friends, but it was still weird downgrading, especially when the break-up was less mutual than what Baekhyun wished it actually was. They hadn’t texted much since the split either, but he figured it wasn’t totally out of the blue…  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : No.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : I’m staying at the University this year.  
  
[ Jongin ] : I was gonna ask if you wanted to do a get together with everyone.  
  
Sighing, Baekhyun began to reply but stopped.  
  
[ Chanyeol ] : Hey, I’m outside. Come out :)  
  
[ Jongin ] : We haven’t seen each other in a while. Thought it’d be fun if we all went out and did something.  
  
Grabbing his student ID card off his desk, Baekhyun double-checked to see if his wallet was in his back pocket before heading out the door. Once he reached the elevator, he pressed the button to go down and responded back to Jongin as he waited for the doors to open.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Sorry :/  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : It was a last minute decision.  
  
[ Jongin ] : It’s ok! Don’t worry about it.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Maybe next time?  
  
[ Jongin ] : Yeah. Next time. I’ll ask Kyungsoo if he wants to come.  
  
The doors opened and Baekhyun walked inside, immediately exiting the conversation with Jongin as soon as the message sent. He should’ve mentioned that Kyungsoo was out of the country, but ultimately decided that Jongin would find out sooner or later by himself. Afterwards, he turned his attention back to Chanyeol.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Coming! I’ll be out in a sec.  
  
[ Chanyeol ] : Don’t worry about it. Take your time ;)  
  
There it was again. The constant feeling of uncertainty. What did the winky face mean (if it meant anything at all)? It could’ve also been a mistake and nothing else…  
  
Baekhyun didn’t have a lot of time to ponder about all the possibilities of how Chanyeol’s thumb could’ve sent the wrong emoticon. The elevator reached the ground floor and the moment he stepped outside, he looked up and saw Chanyeol sitting outside on the concrete bench. He was dressed a bit nicer than he usually looked, but overall, still casual. And then there was Baekhyun who, on the other hand, had his flannel shirt all buttoned up and tucked with a big, orange winter over it.  
  
Chanyeol was looking at his phone, so Baekhyun took the chance to quickly undo his neat appearance. After he finished unbuttoning the shirt and pulling it out from its tucked form, he zipped up his coat and walked towards the front entrance, greeting Chanyeol with a smile.  
  
“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting.”  
  
“Oh, I wasn’t waiting for that long! Don’t apologize!”  
  
Baekhyun realized a second later how his eyes were stuck on his stupid grin, but looking back up and meeting Chanyeol’s eyes still had the same effect on him. There was practically no winning.  
  
“That’s good. So, uh, how’re we going to get there?” Baekhyun asked, more so to make conversation as they walked, but he was also curious what direction they were going in.  
  
“I’ll get us a taxi.”  
  
“Wouldn’t it be cheaper to ride the bus?”  
  
“Yeah, but don’t worry. It’s on me,” Chanyeol said. Before Baekhyun could argue, he put his hand up and stopped him. “We’ll get to the restaurant faster this way. I promise. And hey, I’m hungry, too, so the sooner we eat, the better.”  
  
“Chanyeol, it’s…” Baekhyun pursed his lips. “We don’t  _have_  to get there immediately. Maybe we can get some snacks on the way to the station?”  
  
Rubbing the back of his neck, Chanyeol looked away and turned his eyes to the ground. “The bus might take a while, and... I got the worst reservation time.”  
  
“Reservation?” Baekhyun quirked his brows up at him. “Where’re we eating?”  
  
“I really like this one place. They do Italian food,” Chanyeol sheepishly explained, looking a bit embarrassed as he talked about it. “I wanted to make sure we’d be able to get a table--Oh, but if you don’t like Italian, then I could probably cancel. You wanted to get snacks on the way to the station, right?”  
  
“It’s--No, no. It’s fine! You already went through the trouble. We can go.” Thinking about how much money he had on him (since he only planned on the movie ticket and a light meal), Baekhyun carefully offered a share of his funds. “But since you did all of this, let me pay for the taxi.”  
  
As they reached the end of the campus near the drop-off area, Chanyeol looked down at Baekhyun with his arms crossed. Despite his stature, Baekhyun didn’t find him intimidating in the least bit. “Okay, how about this... Let’s split the taxi bill on the way there, then take the train back since it’s cheaper and we won’t be rushing to get back on campus. How does that sound?”  
  
“That sounds better.”  
  
“Great!” Glancing at his watch, Chanyeol hummed. “The taxi should be here any minute. I called fifteen minutes ago.”  
  
  
Baekhyun scoffed in disbelief. “So, you knew I’d say yes to the taxi?”  
  
Laughing, Chanyeol looked at him briefly before shrugging. “You’re almost kind of predictable?”  
  
The remark made Baekhyun pause for a moment to think about. If he could see right through him, did that mean that Chanyeol  _knew_  about all his flustered and clumsy feelings? They were almost as everywhere as his thoughts. The possibility almost made Baekhyun want to run in the other direction, but he smiled and stayed his ground.  
  
“Oh, yeah?”  
  
“Yeah,” Chanyeol told him with a confidence that Baekhyun kind of hated that  _he_  didn’t have. Then, the giant playfully nudged him by the elbow, immediately making Baekhyun “By the way, why’d you untuck your shirt from before? You looked cute.”  
  
Pursing his lips, Baekhyun inwardly groaned. Chanyeol saw. Of course he did.  
-  
-  
Baekhyun believed that three things must happen in order for something to be considered a real “date”. One, the invitation should be exclusive for one person and one person  _only_. In his case, Chanyeol did ask him if he wanted to see the movie with him, which he said yes to. It didn’t take a genius to realize that it was only the both of them there, but then again, it was the holidays and not a lot of people decided to stay on campus. Chanyeol’s options could’ve just been depleted and he was his only friend left to ask.  
  
That could’ve been it.  
  
The second thing was food and drinks. If the person who extended the invitation  _also_  even so much as to  _offer_  to buy the other person’s food, then that was definitely a date. He looked over to where Chanyeol was buying popcorn from the movie stand. The guy had asked him before if he wanted a snack, but Baekhyun refused (to test the waters). For a short moment, he felt like maybe it  _wasn’t_  a date, but it was short lived when Chanyeol turned around, holding two small bags of popcorn and two bottles of water tucked underneath his right arm.  
  
It really  _was_  a date.  
  
Baekhyun felt his face turning red. All of a sudden, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Chanyeol.  
  
“Listen, I know you said you didn’t want anything, but come on. You can’t go to the movies without getting popcorn!” Chuckling, Chanyeol offered the bag in his left hand. “I didn’t know if you liked butter so I just told them to put a little bit.”  
  
“I--” Baekhyun looked at the popcorn bag in his hand, thinking of what to say next. “I guess… Thank you? You didn’t have to.”  
  
The last (but definitely not the least) and third criteria was for person A to casually mention the word “date” and Chanyeol never said--  
  
“What kind of person would I be if I didn’t pay for my date?”  
  
There was a quick pause, but it was enough for Baekhyun’s brain to fully process what his ears had just heard. By then, his heart was already pounding.  
  
“So, this really is a date then, huh?” Surprisingly, his voice didn’t waver all that much.  
  
Chanyeol looked a bit surprised by the question. It insinuated that Baekhyun didn’t know at all, which was the complete opposite of what he had thought. “Yes?” He frowned, tilting his head to the side. “I thought I made it clear that I was asking you out. Sorry if I--”  
  
“No, no. I mean, of course it’s a date.” Baekhyun knew he was overcompensating with all the hand movements he was making. He lost about ten pieces of popcorn within the span of five seconds until Chanyeol gently took a hold on his hand to stop anymore from spilling. “Sorry… But, as I was saying, I was just overthinking it and--”  
  
“You know,” Chanyeol said, interrupting him, “if you just want to watch it as friends, we can. I don’t want you feeling awkward. It’s already kind of awkward now that you… I guess, didn’t understand what I meant.”  
  
Just as Chanyeol was removing his hand, Baekhyun intervened, grabbing it just as he was pulling away. “No, I want this to be a thing.” He almost cringed, almost in disbelief that he actually said those exact words. “I want this to be a first date.”  
  
“Baek--”  
_  
“Really.”_  Baekhyun bit his bottom lip. The look in Chanyeol’s eyes had a glimmer of doubt, and for a moment, Baekhyun worried that maybe he wasn’t convinced at all. Then, a second later, he felt the giant’s hand slide over his.  
  
There was a long pause, but Baekhyun refused to look away, waiting for Chanyeol to say something first. When nothing came about, he figured he had waited enough. He opened his mouth to break the silence, but was immediately cut off by Chanyeol shaking his head at him to stop.  
  
“Alright. We’ll keep this as a date,” he started, slowly. “But just so we’re on the same page, I didn’t ask you to watch this movie as friends. I was actually asking you out. Okay?”  
  
“Okay,” Baekhyun agreed, but not without defending himself. “To be honest, though, you asked it so casually, how was I supposed to know?”  
  
“What do you mean ‘casually’?”  
  
“You were like  _‘Oh, you want to go see Star Wars with me?_ ’,” Baekhyun said, attempting to imitate the latter’s deep voice (poorly). “That sounded a lot like a buddy-buddy invite.”  
  
“I thought you knew I liked you! That’s why I didn’t try to make it sound so much as a proposal. Instead, I thought it was a  _‘Hey, let’s go on a date’_  kind of thing.”  
  
Baekhyun blinked. “I didn’t know you liked me.”  
  
“If I didn’t, wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of the date?”  
  
“Oh.” It was a stupid thing to say, but Baekhyun only realized it after it was said. “Okay, well, I kind of figured you  _did_  because of the whole flirting thing—Wait. You were flirting all those times, right?”  
  
“Come on.” Chanyeol laughed as he began to pull him along and it didn’t go unnoticed to either of them that their hands were still locked together. However, neither one said anything. It just felt natural. “Let’s go find our seats. We’re in theater four.”  
  
“You didn’t answer my question,” Baekhyun pointed out as he tried his best to keep up with Chanyeol’s strides.  
  
Grabbing the handle of theater door, Chanyeol briefly let go of Baekhyun’s hand as he held the entrance open. Cocking his head to the side, he signaled for him to go in before following right after. “I was.”  
  
“Sometimes you made it hard to tell,” Baekhyun whispered, loudly enough for Chanyeol to hear, fully aware of the new hush environment. It was dark, but somehow the giant managed to slip their hands together again, heading towards the seats. “I figured you were just being nice.”  
  
“Didn’t you think I was being a little  _too_  nice, though?”  
  
Baekhyun wanted to say ‘yes’, because those were the moments when he probably should’ve just taken the hint instead of pondering about possible explanations as to why Chanyeol did this and that, but he decided against it. Sighing, he shrugged. “Now I know.”  
  
Chanyeol softly chuckled as his shoulder lightly bumped into Baekhyun’s own. “You’re really cute, honestly.”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
Baekhyun didn’t date much before Jongin and absolutely no one else after him, but he always felt as though kissing someone on the first date was a bit much, almost borderline tacky. It was almost an unspoken rule he had set up with himself to never do unless he  _really_  had a good time and planned on seeing the other person again.  
  
Which, with Chanyeol, he did.  
  
As they were approaching Baekhyun’s dorm building, he began to seriously question whether he should kiss Chanyeol (if the mood was right). The giant, on the other hand, didn’t seem to linger on about the issue, too busy talking about his feelings on the movie, which Baekhyun thought was kind of… sweet.  
  
“I can’t believe how hard Disney was really pushing for Rey and Kylo.”  
  
Chuckling, Baekhyun smiled up at him. “I don’t know. I kind of liked it a lot.”  
  
“Me, too, but come on. They literally used Snoke as a plot device for Rey and Ben’s story line. ” Chanyeol argued, motioning his hand in a circular motion. “And that thing about Rey’s parents being nobody important? All that build up for  _that_?”  
  
“You can’t be serious! Snoke was literally the most boring, two-dimensional villain  _and_  they hinted that her parents were a bunch of unimportant junkers the entire time!” Baekhyun said, pointing it out. He wasn’t even remotely heated about the conversation, but it got his blood rushing enough that it was making his cheeks red against the cold, dry winter air.  
  
“Yeah? When?”  
  
“When she was in that cave, tapping on the mirror? And all she saw was herself? If she  _had_  important parents, that would’ve been the time to show them.”  
  
“Okay, but I honestly thought she’d be someone’s daughter that they decided to hide.”  
  
Cocking his head, Baekhyun raised a brow. “Not everyone has to come from an important family. Look at Ben. His parents are Han and Leia with Luke as his uncle. And what is he? A little fucked up.”  
  
“Agree to disagree.”  
“How’re you not agreeing with me, though?” It was a little stupid, but Baekhyun couldn’t stop smiling. His face was starting to hurt. “Anakin didn’t have important parents and  _he_  ended up being the villain.”  
  
“You think Rey might end up being the new Darth Vader-esque villain in this trilogy?”  
  
“All I’m saying is that you never know.”  
  
He had gotten so caught up in their conversational debate that Baekhyun didn’t notice that they had stopped right in front of his building. Reluctantly, he let go of Chanyeol’s arm and smiled as he stepped away from him. “Thanks for walking me home. I know you didn’t have to, but still… Thank you.”  
  
“No problem,” Chanyeol replied, sticking his hands in the front pockets of his jacket. “Be careful walking back in. I don’t want to see you slipping and falling.”  
  
“You’ll catch me though, right?” Baekhyun said, teasing him.  
  
The smirk on Chanyeol’s face threw Baekhyun off. It  _always_  threw him off.  
  
“Only if you want me to.”  
  
Not that he would ever admit it out loud , but Baekhyun was definitely struck by him. His whole presence and by the way that he talked so smoothly... It didn’t take more than split second for him to realize how completely, and utterly, drawn in he really was.  
  
“Okay, well, I should go now.” Yet, Baekhyun didn’t move. “See you some other time?”  
  
“Sure! Another movie?”  
  
“Yeah, that sounds fun! Um…Bye!” Keep his hands in his pockets, Baekhyun began his way back inside his building before stopping halfway between the doors and Chanyeol, who continued to stand outside to make sure everything was alright. Then, after thinking ‘ _Fuck it_ ’, Baekhyun turned on his heel, jogging back to where Chanyeol was standing and stood on his tippy toes to plant a quick kiss on the side of the giant’s warm cheek.  
  
They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then, Baekhyun pulled away, attempting to hide his shy smile. “Okay, have a good night. Good-bye!”  
  
Chanyeol was beaming and there was absolutely no hiding it. “Bye.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
“Want to go visit Namsan tower with me this Sunday before the new semester? Oh, and just so you’re not confused again, I’m asking you out on a date.”  
  
“You’re so funny,” Baekhyun sarcastically remarked as he shifted his upright position on the bed, making sure that he kept the laptop between them stable.  
  
Watching a movie on Netflix had become a normal occurrence over the break (and so did cuddling), so having Chanyeol in his dorm room felt more and more normal each time. At one point, he did worry about being too attached and missing the same activities later when everything was back to normal with the turn of the new spring semester, but that was already a given. He was already expecting to see Chanyeol less and more sporadic than regularly over the course of the months just by the fact that he  _was_  a computer science engineer and the workload was more intensive than Baekhyun’s own courses. But he decided to just enjoy the few days left they had.  
  
“Is that a yes?”  
  
“Yeah. Sounds fun.” The tower was a popular spot for couples to go to for dates, ultimately popular for the locks many people left behind. They weren’t official, just casually… together. For a moment, he wondered if Chanyeol wanted to do the whole lock thing, maybe scribble their names on one of the wooden posts on the way up the mountain. It seemed a little too early in their relationship, but there were always exceptions to the rule.  
  
“By the way,” Chanyeol started, leaning against Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Can I ask you a question? If you don’t mind.”  
  
“Shoot.”  
  
“What were you doing at the party that night?” he asked. “I have a friend--Sehun. He’s part of the fraternity that threw the party so I’ve been to a few of the other ones. Most of the people I recognized, but you were just there that one time. You also left really abruptly, by the way. Didn’t even catch your name.”  
  
“That was the point of leaving,” Baekhyun snorted, shaking his head. “A friend of mine was just looking after me. I didn’t know you at the time. Plus, I was having issues with my boyfriend back then, so it really wasn’t smart to do that with other people and--”  
  
“Wait...  _Boyfriend_?” Chanyeol reached out and tapped the space bar, pausing the movie. Then he turned his head, giving Baekhyun a confused expression. “You have a boyfriend.”  
  
“Oh, sorry. Um, we just broke up around then, so he was my ex by the time we met. I kind of just felt like he still was.”  
  
“So, no.”  
  
“No, I don’t,” Baekhyun firmly said. When he felt Chanyeol relax, he sighed, grabbing his phone from the window sill where it was charging. After he unplugged the device, he pulled up his last conversation with Jongin. “See? Last thing he sent was an invite to get together with all our friends back home. Up until now, we haven’t talked at all.”  
  
Glancing at the phone, Chanyeol quirked his lips before looking back and meeting Baekhyun’s gaze. “So, what I’m hearing is that you were pretending that I was…him…when we kissed.”  
  
“That’s not exactly how I’d put it--”  
  
“How would you put it as?”  
  
Baekhyun wasn’t expecting the spot light to be on him. In his defense, he wasn’t even fantasizing about Jongin that night. It was purely with Chanyeol in mind, but saying it outright probably wouldn’t have convinced him enough to believe anything that Baekhyun said. The expression on his face alone said that he was really bummed and--  
  
“I’m just playing around.” Chanyeol settled back in bed, leaning against the headboard. “I know. You don’t have to look all flustered.”  
Groaning, Baekhyun smacked his arm. “I’m just trying to make you feel better! You looked all butt hurt a second ago and you’re here making me feel bad.”  
  
“I was kidding! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” Chanyeol quickly apologized. “But for the record, I wasn’t ‘hurt’, okay?”  
  
Scoffing, Baekhyun pressed a finger on the giant’s chest. “ _Yes_ , you were,” he insisted. “And you’re also a really bad liar.”  
  
“Uh huh.” Stretching his arm out, Chanyeol pulled the smaller male closer to him. “You’re right. Can’t lie about the fact that I’m kind of glad that night happened.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
Chanyeol pretended to think about it a while before nodding. “Yeah. It was pretty much luck that I met Kyungsoo. If I hadn’t, he would’ve never introduced us.”  
  
_Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo...._  
  
Shit.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, noticing the frown set across his face.  
  
“Hm? Nothing.”  
  
Chanyeol didn’t look like he bought it. The curious look on his face gave that fact away in a split second. “Are you sure?”  
  
Pressing his lips together, Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah. Let’s unpause the movie.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
It was always in the back of his mind that Kyungsoo had told him how much he liked Chanyeol, even enough to try and confess some time later in the beginning of the new semester. But the thoughts were never there explicitly--not when Chanyeol was really good at distracting him. In between hanging out and watching movies in bed, he just hadn’t thought about it enough.  
  
Baekhyun glanced over to his right, watching Chanyeol think about which lock to pick from the vendor. Then, heaving his shoulder, he pulled out his phone and turned to the side.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Hey, when are you coming back? I need to tell you something.  
  
“Hey.” Chanyeol touched his arm, causing him to jerk his head up as he turned back around. “Which one do you like better? Do you want a small one or do you want that big plastic rubber heart? We’ll be able to write something longer with the plastic one, but it’s up to you. What do you want?”  
  
The smaller one seemed fine. Baekhyun felt like the bigger one seemed more appropriate for a relationship that was actually more serious than what they had. Yet, at the end of the day, they were both locks and they were going to write their names on it anyways.  
  
“I think the bigger one’s a lot cuter.” Baekhyun pointed at one of the bigger ones. “I like that blue one.”  
  
“Okay!” Smiling at the vendor, Chanyeol nodded at the heart Baekhyun had chosen. “We’ll take that one.”  
  
As the old woman who was selling the locks took out a new one that was still in its plastic packaging, Chanyeol opened his wallet and handed over the money. After noticing the transaction, Baekhyun pulled him off to the side once they were far away from the stand.  
  
“How much was that?”  
  
“Like… ₩15,000?”  
  
Baekhyun gaped at him. “What the hell? Why was it so much?”  
  
Shrugging, Chanyeol ripped open the plastic. “Because we decided to be a bunch of tourists and buy it on the spot instead of somewhere down below before we even came up here,” he laughed. “It’s okay, though. I don’t mind.”  
  
“I’ll give you half when we get back to campus.”  
  
“Don’t. I won’t take it.” Throwing the plastic away in the nearest trash can, Chanyeol refused to hear the smaller male’s arguments. “I’ll let you pay for our subway tickets later. Then we can call it even.”  
  
“That’s only one-tenth of what it cost you to buy  _that_.”  
  
“Tell you what,” Chanyeol said, leaning down closer to him. “You don’t need to worry about it cause I consider you and this whole date  _priceless_.”  
  
Baekhyun scrunched his nose before looking away. “God, you’re so corny.”  
  
“Only for you!”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
_Baekhyun x Chanyeol  
  
Je ne suis rien sans toi._  
  
“What does that mean?” Baekhyun asked once the lock was in place.  
  
Chanyeol grinned, giving him a coy wink. “I’ll tell you a year from now.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
The first thing Heechul said when he walked in was “Did you miss me?” and it took Baekhyun by surprise when the door hit against the door stopper. It practically shook the entire room, but his roommate didn’t seem to care (or notice) as he continued to enter the room, dragging his luggage case behind him.  
  
“What’s that smell?”  
  
Baekhyun pushed the covers off of him and sat up from his bed. “It doesn’t smell like anything in here.”  
  
“Are you sure? Cause it smells like sex in here.”  
  
_“What!?”_  Baekhyun all but screamed it, but his exclamation was loud enough to make Heechul cringe.  
  
“Calm down. I wasn’t being serious.” Leaving his luggage by his desk, Heechul shuffled his way over to the bed. “You don’t have to yell and wake up the whole floor.”  
  
“Sorry--”  
  
“Unless you really did use this room for  _that_  while I was gone.”  
  
Baekhyun was quick to deny it. Nothing went on between him and Chanyeol besides movies and (sometimes) falling asleep together. Still, his face began to feel hot. “Don’t be dumb. We didn’t.”  
  
Cocking his head at him, Heechul smirked. “ _We_?”  
  
A split second later, Baekhyun realized his slip up. “Ah, no. That’s not what I--”  
  
“So, you took him back here after your nerd date?” Heechul shook his head, acting disappointed. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to take a guy home after the first date, Byun.”  
  
“I’m  _not_.” In all correction, he  _did_  invite Chanyeol back to his dorm room, but that was after their first date. It was only for the whole Netflix and  _maybe_  a kiss on the cheek, but nothing too raunchy. They practically spent the entire holiday break attached to the hip like a couple going through a honeymoon phase.  
_  
Ugh._  
  
“Listen, I’m the last person to judge what you want to do, so don’t get your undies all twisted.” Heechul yawned, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Anyways, have you just been in bed all day? You look tired.”  
  
Pursing his lips, Baekhyun shook his head as he combed a hand through his hair. He needed a shower. “No… I just got back from something like an hour ago.”  
  
“Another date?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Rolling his eyes, Heechul snorted. “At this rate, when’s the wedding?”  
_  
“Stooop,”_  Baekhyun moaned, covering his face with his hands before smacking them on either side of him. “It’s really  _not_  that serious.”  
  
Heechul gave him the side eye. “Whatever you say,” he said with a small grin on his face that let Baekhyun know that he knew better despite the juvenile objections. “Anyways, you should go shower before it starts getting busy. Everyone’s coming back today, you know.”  
  
“I know, but I have to wait for Kyungsoo to come back. His flight arrived three hours ago. I need to talk to him before tomorrow.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Because, I…” He what? Basically  _stole_  his best friend’s crush? Not that someone could steal another person. There really  _was_  no such thing as calling dibs on other people, but still. Kyungsoo let him know first and he even  _advised_  him on what to do.  
  
To be fair, Chanyeol liked him, even before Kyungsoo told him about  _his_  feelings for the giant. And if he was being honest with himself, he did really like Chanyeol back, and not in the way that was only good for forgetting someone else, but he genuinely did enjoy his company.  
  
“You…?”  
  
“It’s a bit complicated,” Baekhyun continued, exasperated. “I don’t know how to tell him about Yeol.”  
  
“Uhhh, what’s there to tell him about? I don’t see why it matters.”  
  
Sighing, Baekhyun pushed the covers off of himself and threw his legs over to the side of his bed. “Kyungsoo likes Chanyeol. You know, the guy I watched the movie with?”  
  
“The same guy you’ve been inviting in here for the past two weeks?” Heechul always liked gossip so the twist in the topic of conversation intrigued him. “ _And_  the same one you kissed from before?”  
  
“Yes—”  
  
“He’s also been your gym buddy, too.”  
  
That was also true, especially whenever Jongdae wasn’t available. He preferred working out in the early morning instead of in the evening or late at night, which made his habitual preferences different from Baekhyun’s own. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was more in sync with Baekhyun’s schedule so it made sense for them to go together…  
  
“Yeah… But anyways, I just need to come clean about it and—”  
  
Right at that moment, Baekhyun’s phone vibrated for a second before going back to being silent. Picking it up, he read the first thing across the screen.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’ll come by soon! I just need to do something first. It’ll be quick—hopefully.  
  
Scrunching his brows together, Baekhyun frowned as he opened the chat.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Ok! No problem.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Thanks. Wish me luck!  
_  
Wait.._  
  
Was he…? Baekhyun frowned.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Wish you luck for what?  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’m meeting up with Chanyeol right now.  
  
Baekhyun abruptly jumped out of bed, startling Heechul. A brief second passed before he realized how weird and crazy he must’ve seemed before sitting back down on the edge of his mattress, phone still in hand.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : I thought you were going to talk to him later?  
  
What the hell was the point in asking? He didn’t even know if he was trying to buy time. The objective seemed pretty murky even to him at that point.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’m feeling pretty confident. I thought about it on the plane ride back from London. I should just do it.  
  
No, he really  _shouldn’t_.  
  
_Fuck_. Baekhyun felt a headache starting to get to him.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Isn’t it too soon?  
  
It was almost laughable to say, though. He was the last person to talk when it came to talking about how one shouldn’t rush a relationship.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : I mean, I just want to ask him how he feels. Either way, whether it’s now or later, the answer will probably be the same.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’d rather know now than wait for the same answer, you know?  
  
If Kyungsoo really wanted to know, Baekhyun could tell him right then and there. His hands were shaking. Not so much out of fear that Kyungsoo would find out, but more so about the fact that he was so damn excited and Baekhyun was just… a terrible friend.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : He doesn’t like you, Soo--  
  
His fingers seemed to be moving on their own, but Baekhyun managed to stop himself before hitting the send button. Was it his place to say that? Yes… but also  _no_. Frustrated, Baekhyun got out of bed again and hurried over to his closet, pulling out a jacket. There was light snow fall outside, which was just his luck.  
  
Texting Chanyeol, he quickly said a good-bye to Heechul, who was in a bit of a confused loop over what was currently happening, and practically bolted out the door  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Hey, where are you right now?  
  
Reaching the elevators, he hit the button requesting to go down.  
  
[ Chanyeol ] : I’m about to meet Kyungsoo at the student cafe near his dorm. Said he wanted to talk about something.  
  
Was it also his luck that Kyungsoo lived in the second farthest dorm away from him? Chanyeol’s dorm was even farther, but the thing about relative distance was that it meant both of their dorms were practically next to each other, making Baekhyun the odd one out in terms of location.  
  
He wanted to explain everything to Kyungsoo in person and  _maybe_  that might make things a little better. It was also one thing for Chanyeol to tell him about them because, for one, Chanyeol didn’t know Kyungsoo even had feelings for him. Baekhyun did.  
  
And Baekhyun was also the one who Kyungsoo confided to, so it made all the difference.  
  
Pulling his jacket on him, Baekhyun started to run in the direction of Kyungsoo’s dorm building. It was usually a seven minute walk, but Baekhyun knew he could probably run it in about two minutes, maybe three if he was going to try and avoid slipping since cracking his head on the cement on the way there wasn’t part of the plan. In fact, it’d probably ruin his plan, which, if he was being honest with himself, kind of sucked and was definitely last minute.  
  
The only thing running through his mind as he was running through courtyards and taking all the shortcuts he knew existed was the thought of letting Kyungsoo down. It was unavoidable, but there was no avoiding which scenario was better.  
  
Did he dare try to text and run at the same time? He had never done it before and the combination didn’t sound like a great idea. There was also the snow making the ground damp and (somewhat) slippery. It just seemed like a bad idea all around.  
  
But he still did it.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Don’t tell Kyungsoo anything please?  
  
He locked his phone and continued to run until he passed by the familiar courtyard for the dorm buildings on the east side of campus. Almost  
immediately, he spotted them, halfway between each of their dorms, and Baekhyun  
was forced to stop in his tracks.  
  
Kyungsoo appeared to be saying something with Chanyeol nodding in response. The words were difficult to make out and even harder to try and read. Baekhyun had no other choice but to stand on the side, invisible, for a short time. His presence went unnoticed until Chanyeol glanced away from Kyungsoo’s view and looked surprised to see him there, breathless and tired.  
  
“Baek?”  
  
Biting his tongue, Baekhyun forced a smile on his face, but his feelings were still obvious. “Hi,” he said, eyes looking over to Kyungsoo who seemed…upset. “Um, can I talk to you? In private.”  
  
“Why? Do you have something to tell me?”  
  
“Um…” Did he forget how to talk? Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol for some help, but decided against it. “Yeah… I do… But you know what? You guys look busy so maybe I’ll just talk to you after—”  
  
“Does it have something to do with you guys?”  
  
When did his mouth get so dry? Maybe it was from when he ran over there…or maybe it wasn’t. “Did Chanyeol tell you?”  
  
“That he likes  _you_? Yeah, he did.” Kyungsoo paused. “Is there something  _else_  I should know that you don’t want him telling me?”  
  
From the tone of his voice, Baekhyun could only guess what had happened. Sighing, he heaved his shoulders. “You got my message.”  
  
“I did.”  
  
Intervening, Chanyeol took a step in between the two. “Soo, it’s my fault. I—”  
  
“I’m not mad at  _you_ , Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo interrupted before turning his eyes towards Baekhyun. “And… I’m not mad at you either. I…just don’t like how you tried to hide things.”  
  
“Soo, I wasn’t—” He tried to explain but was cut off.  
  
“No, stop. I’m going to go,” Kyungsoo muttered. Looking away, he kept his eyes low as he turned on his heel and began walking back to his dorm.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : I think we should stop seeing each other.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : I like you, but Soo’s been my friend since grade school. I’m sorry.  
  
Breaking up with someone over text message was such a cowardly thing to do, but Baekhyun couldn’t bring himself to do it in person. He wouldn’t have been able to do it at all.  
  
Groaning, he fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. It was the first day of the semester and he was already feeling like trash, something that only usually happened around midterms and finals. Luckily, Heechul was out for one of his drama club activities so Baekhyun had the room all to himself and no one to witness him in one of his moods.  
  
His phone began to vibrate and Baekhyun put it in front of his face to see who it could’ve been.  
  
_Chanyeol_.  
  
Sighing, he put the phone down and let it ring out before silence was finally restored back in the room. He half-expected the giant to call again, but instead, received a text.  
  
[ Chanyeol ] : Can we talk?  
  
[ Chanyeol ] : Call me when you can.  
  
Throwing his phone back on the bed, Baekhyun grabbed a pillow and hugged it against his face.  
  
_Fuck_.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
Kyungsoo didn’t reply to any of his text messages for two days and Baekhyun was forced to suffer the silence in lecture halls full of students and professors. He usually enjoyed sitting in the front, but for the meantime, he sat in the back. There was also a lingering feeling like Kyungsoo was also in his classes, being that they were in the same major, but he hadn’t spotted him at all. Between trying to get an answer back from Kyungsoo and ignoring Chanyeol all together, Baekhyun didn’t know who he missed more.  
  
It wasn’t until the third day that Kyungsoo finally sent something back and he, of course, jumped at the opportunity to fix things between them.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Hey  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Hi.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : Meet me outside my building around 12?  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : If you don’t have class.  
  
[ Baekhyun ] : Yeah, I can go.  
  
[ Kyungsoo ] : K. See ya in 15.  
  
Taking a moment to breathe, Baekhyun looked up from his phone. Suddenly, he didn’t know whether it was the macchiato in his hand or the nerves making his hands shake, but he clenched them into fists in an attempt to stop.  
  
It was useless.  
  
Getting up from his seat, he began packing up all his belongings in his bag. Raising his head, he gave a smile over to Jongdae who was working behind the counter. “Hey, I’m going to go talk to Soo. Thanks for the drink and the, um,  _discount_.”  
  
“Don’t mention it,” Jongdae said, nodding. “Ah, but really, though. Don’t. I might get in trouble next time. Hope it goes well!”  
  
“Thanks.” Baekhyun didn’t really know else to expect, but hopefully he’d get the chance to make things a little better (even though he didn’t know how to go about it yet). “I’ll see you later?”  
  
“Yeah. Let me know if you need anything.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
Kyungsoo was standing next to a bench when Baekhyun arrived in the courtyard with his bag off to the side, waiting on his phone. Slowly, he approached him until he was near enough to call out his name.  
  
After looking up and seeing Baekhyun, Kyungsoo put his phone away in the front pocket of his jacket. “Hi.”  
  
“Hi…” Baekhyun bit his bottom lip and looked at the ground before forcing himself to make eye contact with his friend. “I… I just wanted to say that I--”  
  
Putting his hand up, Kyungsoo signaled for him to stop. “Can I say something first?”  
  
It would’ve been better if Baekhyun was able to make his case first, but he nodded, giving Kyungsoo the courtesy. “Sure.”  
  
“You…” Pressing his tongue against his cheek, Kyungsoo paused, contemplating how to go on about with his words. “Somehow, you always end up with the people I like. I mean, there was Jongin, but you didn’t know about that. And now, Chanyeol.”  
  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”  
  
“I’m not blaming you. That’s not why I was upset in the first place.” Kyungsoo sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked him before we went on break? Hell, why not  _over_  break even?”  
  
“I didn’t like him back then.” Baekhyun’s voice wavered. He wasn’t even sure of himself. At least, not entirely. “And I wasn’t sure about him, either. He didn’t tell me until later.”  
  
“You should’ve told me--”  
  
Shaking his head, Baekhyun argued back. “I tried! Yesterday! But you just left. How would’ve I been able to tell you if you just kept cutting me off? Yeah, Chanyeol likes me and…”  _And I like him too?_  A second passed. “And I might’ve had the same feelings, but I know that you told me first so that’s why I… I just cut things off with him. I’ve known you longer and I can’t--”  
  
“You cut him off?” Kyungsoo frowned. “Like… you broke up.”  
  
Heaving his shoulders, Baekhyun shrugged. “I guess you could call it that. It wasn’t anything serious so I’ve just been avoiding him for the past few days.”  
  
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, groaning. “Just cause I’m upset that you didn’t tell me doesn’t mean I want you to ghost him. What the hell are you doing?”  
  
Taken aback, Baekhyun stared at him. “Wait… What? Did you  _want_  me to keep seeing him?”  
  
“Well, obviously if you two like each other, what am I supposed to do? Force him to like me instead?”  
  
“But I don’t want to keep seeing him if it means not having you as a friend over it.”  
  
Moments pass before Kyungsoo offers up an apologetic smile. “It’s okay. I mean, it would’ve been  _nice_  if my feelings were reciprocated, but it’s just… I don’t know. It’s just one guy. There’ll be other people out there.”  
  
“Soo, I--”  
  
“Next time, though, maybe just don’t hype me up if you’re going to woo them away while I’m gone.” Before Baekhyun could say anything, Kyungsoo laughed. “I’m just kidding. I’ll get over it. Maybe I’ll start talking to Jongin more now that he’s single.” Baekhyun made a face that caught Kyungsoo’s curiosity. “What?”  
  
“Mmm.. Nothing. He said he couldn’t do long distance relationships, but who knows. Maybe you can change his mind.”  
  
“I think I can,” Kyungsoo said, shrugging one shoulder. He fixed the scarf around his neck before closing the distance between them. “It’s cold. Let’s go talk some more in my dorm. When’s your next class?”  
  
“Not until two,” Baekhyun answered. As they walked towards the building, Kyungsoo hooked his arm through Baekhyun’s own. It surprised him, but the skinship was comforting, so he didn’t question it.  
  
“Okay, I have some other things to talk to you about, anyways. We have a bit of time.”  
  
“About…?”  
  
Kyungsoo smiled. “We’ll get to it when we get there.”  
  
-  
  
-  
  
When they arrived in front of Kyungsoo’s door, they finally unliked their arms so Kyungsoo could fumble around in his backpack in search for his keycard. As he waited, Baekhyun looked around the hallway until his eyes noticed the light underneath the door. Curious, he looked back at Kyungsoo.  
  
“Is your roommate here?”  
  
“Hm? Oh, Minseok?” Kyungsoo thought for a moment. He found his keycard and took it out of its pouch before swiping it through the reader. After the lock blinked the color green, he turned the knob and gestured for Baekhyun to go in first. “No. Minseok has all his classes in the afternoon so he’s probably in lecture if he’s not skipping already.”  
  
“Then--” Baekhyun stopped so fast that Kyungsoo lightly bumped into his back. Upon seeing Chanyeol sitting on the latter’s bed, he turned back around, meaning to go outside, but Kyungsoo pushed him back in. “ _Soo_.”  
  
“Listen, if you love something, let it go,” Kyungsoo told him. “So, if you’re happy together, then just do it already and stop worrying about me like I’m five years old. I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Don’t mess up my room. Stay on my side and don’t touch any of Minseok’s things.”  
  
With his lips pursed together, Baekhyun watched as Kyungsoo turned back and left the room, closing the door behind him. There was no way to lock the door from outside so he  _could_  leave if he wanted, but that seemed harder to do than just staying. It was also getting hot in the room and Baekhyun didn’t know if that was because of his jacket or the fact that Chanyeol was looking his way.  
  
Exhaling, Baekhyun turned the other way, facing Chanyeol who hadn’t moved from the bed at all. The spotlight was entirely on him and Baekhyun was feeling pressure from himself to try and say something that wasn’t dumb. “Um… So, I…” He hated how he sounded. “Sorry about not responding. I was just…thinking about what was best. Ah, I mean, best for everyone.”  
  
“Okay,” Chanyeol said slowly. “That sounds fair enough… but do you really feel that way?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“I mean like… Do you still feel like it’s the best thing to do?” When Baekhyun didn’t answer, Chanyeol sighed, rising off the bed. “Do you just want to go back to being friends? I’m fine with that if you tell me that’s what you really want for us.”  
  
“I should’ve called you back instead of putting you off like that. It’s just that you would’ve made it harder.” Baekhyun pulled the scarf away from his neck, thinking it would’ve helped. Only barely. “I think I just needed some space to put things in perspective.”  
  
“And…?”  
  
“Kyungsoo wasn’t talking to me, either, so it didn’t feel right.” Pausing, Baekhyun took a step forward. “But I want to keep seeing you… If that’s still a thing, I mean.”  
  
“It is if you want it to be.”  
  
That was a really smooth thing to say. Even Baekhyun had to admit it to himself. Giving the giant a small smile, he nodded. “I do.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
Baekhyun could tell that he was teasing. “What do you mean why?”  
  
“Why do you want to keep seeing me? What about Kyungsoo?” It wasn’t a serious question. There was a hint of playfulness in his voice and Baekhyun could tell Chanyeol already knew the answer.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun made a sound of feigned disgusted. “Because I like you… and Kyungsoo knows. I think he’s okay with it. I mean, look at where we’re at right now.”  
  
Chanyeol grinned, motioning for Baekhyun walk towards him (which he did). “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. Sliding his hands on either side of Baekhyun’s waist, he pulled him closer until they were just inches apart (if Baekhyun’s jacket wasn’t so thick that day). “I talked to him the other day about us. It was only appropriate. I didn’t want you two to stop talking because of me, so… I just called him and we hung out for a while.”  
  
“And then?”  
  
“He was fine with it and told me it wasn’t a big deal. Then he asked about you and, uhhh…” Chanyeol was so tall that he was able to rest his head on top of Baekhyun’s. “I told him how you’ve been ignoring me for the past few days. That seemed to upset him.”  
  
“Were you  _not_  upset?”  
  
“Shut up. Yes, I was--I  _really_  was.” There was a smile on Baekhyun’s face that Chanyeol couldn’t see until the giant pulled away just enough for their eyes to make contact and the latter could see how softly he was gazing at him. “You literally have no idea.”  
  
The same mood that fell on them the night they first kissed returned and Baekhyun could see that it was the same feeling for Chanyeol. However, just as their lips brushed against one another’s the room door clicked and swung open, making the both of them jolt to see who it could’ve been.  
  
Kyungsoo, with a hand covering most of his face, walked quickly into the room and headed straight for his desk. “Forgot my charger. Laptop’s dying,” he said as he rummaged through one of the drawers until he found what he was looking for. Then, just as he made his exit, Kyungsoo waved his other free hand in front of him. “Alright,  _bye_! Carry on.”  
  
It took some time after before the two of them burst out laughing, but as the laughter died back down, Chanyeol wiped a single tear from Baekhyun’s left eye. He smiled. “You want to try that again?”  
  
“You don’t need to ask me twice. Of course I do.”  
  
“Then let’s try this whole thing over again.”

-

-

They're on the sixth episode of Hwayugi and it's the scene of Seon-Mi crying next to the North Seoul Tower locks that reminds Baekhyun of something.

"Hey, what did you write on the lock that time we went to the Namsan Tower?"

"Hm? Oh, that." Chanyeol thinks for a second before recalling. "Ah! I wrote 'I am not without you'... Well, it was French, because, as they say, it _is_ the most romantic language."

"Of course you'd right something really corny."

Chanyeol grins at him. "You don't like it?" 

"I do."

"Okay, then. Then that's all that matters."

 


End file.
